


Rex Buckingham, Porn Star

by DarkVictory



Series: The Boogie Nights 'Verse [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Fun, M/M, Romance, Silly, Sweet, companion fic, daryl used to be a porn star, ex-porn star, one homophobic slur used, reverse fic, talk of porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-02 20:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16311857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkVictory/pseuds/DarkVictory
Summary: The last person Paul Rovia thought he would meet in the new world was his favourite porn star...





	Rex Buckingham, Porn Star

**Author's Note:**

> It's the companion fic that literally NO ONE asked for!! Pretty much as soon as I got the idea for Twink Tucker, I got the idea to do a reverse fic where Daryl is the former porn star. And of course I had to pick another made-up, porny-sounding name from Brooklyn Nine Nine. 
> 
> And if you haven't read it yet, check out my first "used-to-be-a-porn-star" fic, Twink Tucker: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12947898/chapters/29594373

***

It wasn’t even the tattoos on his arms and hands that confirmed it for Paul. It was the wild-eyed look of fear on the other man’s face. He was terrified. Something in the look of surprise on Paul’s face and the way he’d looked him up and down had tipped Daryl off and now he was determined to get rid of Paul as fast as possible.

Daryl used to do gay porn. 

And Paul knew it.

And Daryl knew Paul knew it.

A slow smile spread across Paul’s face. This day just got a lot more fun.

***

So maybe the day didn’t go  _ exactly _ as planned but Paul was an optimist, so being tied up in a strange community was a good thing in his mind. Not just for the trade connections he could make with these people, but because he was finally alone with his favourite porn star—Rex Buckingham.  _ The _ Rex Buckingham, about 10 years older than he was in his last movie and looking better than ever, in Paul’s opinion.

The man had set down some water and a cookie, then hunkered down for guard duty. Paul decided it was time for him now to “wake up”, and made a performance of shaking off the cobwebs and “discovering” his hands and feet were bound. Then he gave the other man a wry smile.

“So, Rex—“

“I knew it, I fuckin’ knew it,” the other man growled. “Don’t you dare call me that, it’s Daryl, you got it?”

“I get it—“

Daryl drew closer and pointed a menacing finger at Paul’s face. “And if you even  _ think _ of breathing a word of this to anyone, you’re gonna wish you were at the bottom of the lake with that truck.”

Paul smirked and raised an eyebrow.”I won’t tell anyone, Daryl. I kinda love the idea of the two of us having a secret. Besides, it’s the gay code and all, I would never out someone.”

“Who the hell said I was gay?” Daryl spat.

Paul’s eyes widened. “I’m...pretty sure all the guys you fucked on camera would say so.”

“Ain’t ya ever heard of gay for pay?” Daryl retreated and sat back down.

“Of course. But...I don’t think that’s you.”

“Oh really?”

“Really. I think you’re gay,” Paul said plainly. “But I won’t say anything until you’re ready.”

Daryl looked at him incredulously. “Ya think we’re gonna be friends or somethin’?”

“Why not?”

“Because you stole our truck and left us stranded, ya little prick!”

“Wrong. You stole my truck, and I stole it back.” Jesus couldn’t help getting a bit testy. “I spent days gathering the stuff to fill that truck and it was all for nothing. Because of you.”

Daryl looked contrite but still pissed. “Well, we didn’t know that, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Oh, you would’ve given it back, would you? When you had two guns pointed at me? You would’ve just said ‘our mistake, here you go’?”

“Yeah, alright, maybe not.”

“I think I still would’ve ended up here, tied up, at your mercy. Rex.”

“What did I tell you about that name?”

“Oh come on,” Paul said, laughing. He put on a sexy voice, “The least you could do is make it up to me, Rex.”

“Oh for—I’ll be in the other room.” Daryl scrambled to his feet, blushing furiously. “I’ll still kick your ass if you try to escape!”

“Doubtful,” Paul murmured to himself, eyeing the window speculatively.

***

Rex was not at all what Paul thought he would be like.  _ At all.  _

Daryl was...gruff. Stoic. Taciturn. Quiet. Shy. Introverted. And a million other adjectives for qualities Paul would never associate with someone who fucked strangers on film. He would’ve doubted his memory and thought he had the wrong guy except that Daryl had admitted it and  _ still _ blushed furiously when he saw Jesus and tried very hard to ignore him.

The only thing about Rex that he recognized in Daryl was that stubborn streak of defiance. 

In his films, Rex had scowled at the camera, as if daring it to call him a fag, and promising that if it did, he would immediately kick that camera’s ass. He’d had such an intensity and a sense of tightly-coiled and barely restrained strength and energy. It had thrilled and intrigued Paul. 

When the war with Negan heated up, Daryl could no longer avoid Paul. They were paired up a lot to do surveillance and take out smaller outposts quickly and quietly. Daryl had to grant Paul some grudging respect for the work they did together, and finally seemed to relax around him. Now when Paul teasingly called him “Rex”, he just good-naturedly rolled his eyes.

When the war ended, Paul moved to Alexandria; a decision, he had to admit, motivated solely by Daryl’s presence there. He told everyone it was just a temporary move to help rebuild Alexandria but he caught Daryl watching him with a suspicious look. He got even more suspicious looks when he constantly volunteered for the same jobs as Daryl, but how was he supposed to resist a sweaty, sleeveless Daryl hammering boards in the hot sun?

“So why’d you do it?” Paul asked, one sunny afternoon, while holding a board in place for Daryl. The walls finished, they were now rebuilding some of the houses. 

“Do what?” Daryl grunted, while hammering a nail. 

“You know what. Porn.”

“Quiet!” Daryl hissed, quickly looking around.

“Relax, no one’s anywhere near us, they’re all on the next street. And I’m keeping my voice low.”

“For once.”

“So, c’mon, tell me why.”

“For the money, genius.”

“Really?” Paul asked skeptically. “Because there’s a million other ways to make money, you know.”

“None that pay you thousands for a few hours’ work.”

“Good point. But still,” Paul pressed, “It had nothing to do with getting to be gay all free from redneck Georgia?”

“Of course it did, dummy,” Daryl sighed. “My dad was dead and my brother in prison for a stretch so I thought ‘here’s my chance to fuck dudes, finally.’ But I still lived in Buttfuck, Georgia so it wasn’t happening. Hold the board straight, dammit.” He fixed Paul with a look. “If you want a story, you gotta work for it.”

“Sorry! I can do both.”

“Uh-huh. So, I answered an ad looking for guys willing to do gay porn in a town not far from me. Turns out there  _ are _ gay guys in Buttfuck, Georgia, they’re just well hidden.”

“But they all come out of hiding to do porn?” Paul asked with a grin.

“Yup. And that’s it, that’s the story.”

“Oh come on! That’s not  _ it _ , there’s gotta be tons of stories!”

“Too bad.”

Paul decided not to push his luck, and they worked in companionable silence for awhile—until Daryl started throwing Paul uncertain glances and fidgeting with the tools. “What, what is it?”

“Why...why did you watch ‘em?” Daryl asked quietly. “My movies.”

“Um...do I really need to explain why people watch porn?”

“ _ No _ , asshole. I mean, why  _ my _ movies?”

“Ohhhh. Well…” Paul’s heart sped up as he licked his lips nervously. Flirting with Daryl had been fun, but he had long suspected he was getting actual  _ feelings _ for the older man, and was now reluctant to let any kind of feelings known. “I dunno...you were all angry and intense. It was hot,” he finished lamely.

Daryl looked doubtful. “Really? That...that gets you...going?”

“Among other things,” Paul stammered. 

“It’s just...y’know, there’s way hotter guys in porn—“

“It’s not always about looks!” Paul blurted, then immediately cursed himself when Daryl’s face fell. “Not to say you’re not hot, ‘cause you are!”

“Mmhmm.” Daryl busied himself with the toolbox.

“I’m not just saying that, Daryl, I do mean it!”

“It doesn’t matter, forget it.”

“No, it does!” Paul took the toolbox away from Daryl, forcing him to look up. “I mean it, Daryl, honestly. I don’t keep volunteering to work with you because I’m into carpentry! It’s so I can watch you all sweaty and muscle-y and hammering stuff, being all hot and manly…” He trailed off. Daryl looked stunned, and they stood there awkwardly for a moment before Rick’s voice startled them, calling them in for lunch.

***

Over lunch, Daryl and Paul had apparently each decided to ignore what had just happened outside and act normally. They joined everyone else at the long tables set up in the street for meals, and Daryl was talking normally with everyone and not shooting wary looks at him, so Paul felt he could relax. 

A little  _ too _ much.

When they were almost finished eating, Daryl tried to sneak some food off of Paul’s plate, as he now often did, and Paul unthinkingly said “Hands off, Rex! Nice try,” and laughed. Daryl’s face went white and Michonne asked “Rex? What’s that about?” 

Everyone now staring at him, Paul smoothly said “None of your beeswax, that’s what. It’s an inside joke between me and Daryl—and that name is  _ just _ for me to use!” He chuckled to lighten the mood because he knew if he treated it too seriously everyone would ask more questions.

Michonne gave Paul and Daryl an appraising look, then nodded and said with a smile, “Fair enough. I’ve got nicknames for Rick that no one else has any business using.” 

Jerry roared with laughter at that and everyone started chatting again, mostly teasing Rick and guessing at what those nicknames might be. Daryl mumbled something about getting back to work and left the table. Paul carefully counted to 200 in his head before following so he wouldn’t attract attention.

He began apologizing to a pacing Daryl the second he saw him. “I am so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to say that, I wasn’t thinking, I got used to it being just the two of us! But I’m really sorry, and I think I covered it up okay, no one suspects.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Daryl finally burst out. “Michonne thinks we’re a couple now! And probably everyone else does too! Telling everyone you got a pet name for me!”

“Would...would that be the worst thing ever?” Paul asked timidly.

Daryl finally stopped moving and looked at Paul. “This morning, I woulda said no. Now, I’m not so sure, I’m so pissed off at you. How could you be so careless?!”

“I’m sorry! I really am! But honestly, do you really think they would care? They love you so much.”

Daryl looked like he was trying not to literally explode. “You don’t know what it’s like,  _ Paul _ , to be trash, to have everyone look down on you your whole life, and then suddenly...suddenly, the whole damn world changes so much that you’re actually useful, that people actually  _ need _ you, and look to  _ you _ for what to do. You can’t understand that.”

“Think I understand it a bit now,” Paul said quietly. 

“I can’t lose that, Paul,” Daryl said earnestly. “I can’t even risk losing that.”

“Okay, I get it now, and I’m sorry. I’ll do whatever I can to keep your secret. And thank you.”

“For what?”

“For opening up, for telling me something! All this time and I still don’t feel like I know much about you.”

“Nah, you know the stuff that matters. Everything else is just bullshit from the past.”

Paul nodded, and slowly approached Daryl. “Circling back to everyone thinking we’re a couple…”

Daryl watched him warily. “Yeah?”

“You said you wouldn’t have minded before I pissed you off, so now that I’ve apologized profusely, is that...maybe okay again?”

“Yeah.”

Paul was surprised; he’d half expected to get no response. “Oh. Great. Okay, then.” He stood awkwardly.

Daryl rolled his eyes. “Fuck’s sake, Paul, ya gonna do anything about it? Thought you were a smooth talker!”

“I was! Before you!” Paul sputtered. “I used to be able to do this, but you just make me nervous and tongue-tied because I have no idea what you’ll say and while that’s exciting, it’s also nerve-wracking!” He stopped to catch his breath.

“I make you nervous?” Daryl looked baffled. “Me?”

“Yeah.”

“‘Cause of the porn?” Daryl asked uncertainly.

“No, not at all. Because you’re an amazing person and I don’t want to say the wrong thing, screw it all up.”

Daryl sighed, rolled his eyes again, and reached out to grab Paul by the shirt, pulling him close. “You think too much of me.”

“No,” Paul said softly, tentatively putting his hands on Daryl’s hips. “I think the world of you and that’s not even enough.”

***

**Author's Note:**

> I'm merrymerricat on tumblr, come say hi!


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